


Trials and Tribulations

by tobeheard



Category: Supernatural, basically all fandoms
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Abandoned for now at least, Hogwarts AU, So Many Fandoms, shameless excuse to chuck everyone into Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-04
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-02-11 18:36:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2078814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tobeheard/pseuds/tobeheard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hogwarts AU: Years after the Great War, Hogwarts is back up and running. The Dark Lord has been killed, and finally there is some balance in both the muggle and wizarding worlds. Or is there? There isn’t something quite right going on at Hogwarts. Missing pupils, deaths, ransom messages and mysterious fires. Sam Winchester’s determined to find what… or who’s causing all of the chaos that has haunted his entire time at Hogwarts. Along with his friends, he falls into a mystery that he may not be able to escape.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was a mid-august night and the Winchester family were finally arriving back to their most recent motel after a long days hunt. The air was hot and stuffy but not one of them was complaining. The oldest of the trio, a man by the name of John Winchester, had finally killed that son of a bitch werewolf that had gone after his family a couple days prior. Throwing his army duffle bag higher up his shoulder, John looked down at his sons and smiled. Dean, the oldest at the age of 11, was striding ahead of his younger brother, who at age 7 was struggling to keep up.

“Dean, Good job out there today buddy! Soon you’ll be beating your ol’ man at shooting those beasts, eh?” he said good naturedly, before turning towards his youngest son and letting his expression drop.

“Sammy, yeah need to be better _boy_. No monster is gonna wait for ye to dodge the bullet. You should’ve been looking!”

That of course was complete nonsense; the werewolf had gone at them from a spot which even the great John Winchester hadn’t accounted for. _Typical_ , Sam thought, _Dean gets all the praise and what do I get? More disappointed looks from my dad. What did I do wrong?_ Even so, Sam took the criticism with little to no argument other than a few low grumbles and opened the heavy motel door for his father and brother.

The room that they’d been staying in for the last three weeks was, in all honesty, one of the worst places they’d ever stayed in. The conditions of the place on their first day had been what John had considered a place involved with a nuclear blast. That was of course the conditions before he had made Sam clean it up as punishment for not completing his daily training in order to get to his first day at school earlier. Why couldn’t the kid have started them earlier?

The condition of the room now wasn’t  much better. The dull dirt-grey walls (of which had been white when they were first painted if the pictures at the front desk were anything to tell by) were covered in newspaper clippings and copies of articles. The beds could easily be mistaken for a hazard zone. The first of the two double beds was John’s. Though his bed was neatly made up, complete with army folds, it was still a terrible sight. Spread across the bed was a mixture of more newspaper clipping, an old folklore book from the local library (from the last town they’d stayed in), muddled clothing and a couple of spare weapons and machinery. The second of the two beds was to be shared by both Sam and Dean. The side closest to their father’s bed was Dean’s, which was a complete and utter mess in comparison to Sam’s which was kept neat and tidy.

As the two sons flung themselves onto their bed, John Winchester finally staggered inside. Just as he closed the front door and shuffled forwards, he felt something beneath the small rug he was standing on. Pulling this rug aside, John saw a slightly battered looking parchment envelope, which obviously looked like it had been pushed under the door at some point during the day. In cursive green writing were the words:

                                                                           Mr D.Winchester

                                                                           51 Harlow Drive

                                                                           Motel 6 Rm 281

Turning the envelope over, John let his calloused fingers run over the waxed seal and tried to contemplate what was happening. John’s face paled upon the realization and looking up at his sons, shock then disgust painted his face, and then he fled.

The sound of the door slamming shut tore through the room. Sam and Dean darted up from the bed, and ran to the window, only to see both their dad and the Impala gone.

“He probably went to get us some chow!” Dean said, although, he didn’t look so sure himself.

                                                                                          *

It later dawned upon the boys that their dad was not to return. They tried to stay in the same motel for as long as possible, in the hope that he would walk right back through the door. Yet, when they ran out of money, and food became scarce, they knew they had to get help. This led to a week after their father leaving, Sam and Dean finding themselves at Bobby’s and for once they felt at ease. Bobby’s was the only real home that they had since the fire which their mum had died in. Furthermore, for once they were being treated their actual age (Sam reading to his heart’s content whilst Dean listened to music) and not like some 30 odd soldier whose only mission was to hunt down every freakin’ ghost in the state. Sure, Sam would try to help with the research for Bobby, and Dean often spent several hours in a row practicing his shooting in the yard, but they were no longer being treated as simply tools or weapons used to end a war.

A few days after they’d arrived at Bobby’s, there was a knock on the door. Bobby found this pretty odd as he slowly rose from his chair. Normally a hunter would alert him with a phone call or a text if they were coming to his house; otherwise, they’d just use the phone to get their information. Yet, if this was not a hunter, it could only leave about a hundred supernatural possibilities.... _How comforting!_ A problem with the possibility of there being a supernatural entity at the door however, was what demon would knock? Surely they’d just barge in through the wooden door, or come crashing through the windows? This logic didn’t supply Bobby with much relief, and he pointed to the corner of the room, ushering the boys towards it with a K.45.

The knocking continued.

Bobby grabbed his trusty sawed off shotgun, and slowly turned the handle of the door, only to reveal a woman standing there with her arm still raised, as if she was paused in motion. She shook herself, and gave Bobby a disdainful look, almost as if she was saying, _how dare he leave me knocking out here?_

The woman’s greying hair was pulled back into a tight bun, to the point it looked almost painful. Her face had a pinched expression; the squinted eyes behind small square spectacles, high sharp cheekbones and thin lips, gave the impression that she was in much disdain from even being near the house. Almost as if the appearance of Bobby’s home had offended her.

Bobby looked warily at the woman; there was something... off... about her. Bobby didn’t know what it was, but the air had become thick with tension. Neither had yet spoken. The woman gave a slight cough into her hand, then righted her position before looking straight ahead at Bobby.

“Mr Singer, I am here on official business from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in England. I believe that two boys by the surname of Winchester are to be in your attendance?”

Bobby scoffed; he’d dealt with enough witches, if this woman knew what was good for her, she’d turn and leave at this very instant. He told her as much.

The woman looked affronted at this, yet not entirely surprised.

“I did not expect for you to believe me on first account of my sudden appearance here today. But really Mr Singer, if I can just delve a little more into my explanation, you’d find it quite believable.”

Bobby gestured for her to continue, the more he thought about it, the story would at most be highly entertaining.

“I am Professor Horntail, I teach the Care of Magical Creatures, alongside the keeper of grounds Rubeus Hagrid, and am the head of Slytherin house at Hogwarts. In my year when I attended the school, there was a young American lady that you may recognise,” Professor Horntail drew out a slightly crumpled picture and handed it over to Bobby, “Your wife I believe.”

Bobby looked down at the black and white picture, it was weathered and worn down from the years, but the features of two young girls could be seen. The girl on the left was clearly a much younger Professor Horntail. She looked to be around 12, with short cropped hair. The girl on the right however, made Bobby draw a sharp intake of breath. This girl was at least a head shorter than the other one, with long light hair kept back by a headband. They both donned long school robes, and where laughing merrily, waving their wands about and pointing it at each other cheekily.

“It moves”, Bobby mumbled, handing it back to the lady.

“Keep it. Now, may I come in Mr Singer and speak about what I came here originally for?”

Bobby nodded jerkily, and opened the door further as an indication that she could indeed come inside.

“Boys, Yeh can come out now”, Bobby called leading the Professor towards the kitchen so that she could sit down.

“I got nothing but whisky an’ water here”, Bobby said apologetically pouring out a glass of water, and placing it on the table before her.

“Boys”, Bobby reminded.

Sam and Dean then walked into the kitchen, with Dean standing protectively in front of Sam. He was looking at her distrustfully, as if she would attack them both at any given moment.

“Hello boys, I am Professor Horntail and I’m here to explain- Boys please sit down, I don’t really intend to be straining my neck today by looking up at you. Thank you, now where was I? Oh yes. I am here to inform you both of your places at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

At this point Dean snorted, and gave Bobby his reputable _is this woman crazy look?_ The professor threw Dean a rather pointed look in his direction, and then continued.

“It’s best to start in the past then work our way towards that point in the conversation today. Several years ago, there was a great battle. A civil war if you’d like, between two opposing sides in the wizarding world. I won’t go into too much detail about the war, only that many non-magical people, muggles as we call them, were caught in the middle. The catastrophic events that took place world wide, and I’m sure that you’ve noticed a great increase in the number of supernatural beings present here in the modern world. Most members of the wizarding world are harmless; the ones that you’ve encountered in the past are most likely to be the reason for all the destruction that took place. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a school in the United Kingdom, Hogwarts to be exact, where young witches and wizards are taught to embrace their powers, and learn how to use them respectively.

Back to the war for a moment, due to the grand scale of the destruction that took place many of our records were destroyed, as was our American partner school. We have managed to gather enough information however, to determine that your mother was a witch, and that as a result both of you have gained Wizarding powers. The starting age of this school is 11 year old, meaning that you, Dean, are entitled to your place right away. Unfortunately Sam, you’ll have to wait a few years. Of course, neither of you have to go if you don’t want to, we need your permission...however your power is only going to continue to get stronger.”

“Are you serious? Oh god...this is way too much to take in, and if I do go... Who’ll take care of Sammy? What if my Dad comes back? What if-“

Dean was cut off my Bobby, who gave a quick chuckle.

“Who’ll take care of Sammy? I will Dean. No matter what you think, He isn’t your whole responsibility. You’re a kid too. I think that you should go. Get to enjoy yourself. I know that Karen did! And your Dad? He come back ‘ere and he’ll get shot with the gun. Bloody idjit. He’s a fool, missing out on his two sons...”

Dean gave a nervous smile, then looking back and forth between Bobby, Sam and Professor Horntail he gave a smile.

“Looks like I’m going Hogwarts!”

                                                                                          *

The days flew by, and eventually it was the day Dean Winchester was to leave for Diagon Alley. Professor Horntail appeared again in the Singer-Winchester household, and performed side-along apparition to bring the trio outside of the Leaky Cauldron. The building was rather battered; looking like it had been fired at from various angles. Bobby led the two boys into the bar, and eventually the three were settled in a small room. The first day, all three of them stayed in the room (besides the times they all left to eat food), trying to get over the sudden change in time difference. The second day led to a trip to Diagon Alley. This was a high street of sorts, where all magic folk could buy what they needed.

Looking at the list given to Dean, Bobby sighed. He had no clue where to buy this stuff. _I guess we just have to look into every single shop to see which ones we need then..._ The paper itself looked ancient, as if one small tear would break the entire page. Upon this page read;

               First-year students will require:

Uniform

  *        Three Sets of Plain Work Robes (Black)
  *        One Plain Pointed Hat (Black) for day wear
  *        One Pair of Protective Gloves (dragon hide or similar)
  *        One Winter Cloak (Black, silver fastenings)
  *        Please note that all student's clothes should carry name-tags at all times.



Books

  *        The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
  *        A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
  *        Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
  *        A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
  *        One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
  *        Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
  *        Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
  *        The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble



Other Equipment

  *        1 Wand
  *        1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
  *        1 set of glass or crystal phials
  *        1 telescope
  *        1 set of brass scales



Students may also bring an Owl OR a Cat OR a Toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.

 

After changing his money over into the wizarding equivalent, the trio began their journey in the search for Dean’s required equipment. The books were easy enough to find, the very first place they walked into a shop called _Flourish and Blotts_ which stocked each and every one of the books. Bobby even got Sam his own copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ so that he felt like he was a part of this experience. They walked into the next store to get the necessary cauldron, scales, telescope and glass phials; and then the next to get the robes and other pieces of clothing. Eventually, all that was needed to purchase was in fact the wand and maybe a pet, if Dean could persuade Bobby enough.

Walking into _Olivander_ ’s later that day, (after a few shopping mishaps mind you) was probably the most nerve-wracking experience Dean had ever endured. He stood there awkwardly in the middle of the small little shop with Bobby and Sam in the corner. He was supplied with many many possible wands by Olivander, yet no matter which one he received, it didn’t feel quite right. Eventually however, after much damage from the other wands, came a unicorn hair wand with an apple tree wood. This wand, according to Mr Olivander ‘chose the wizard’, and allowed Dean to get a wand suited to him.

As they left the little shop, Dean looked excitedly up towards Bobby.

“Can I please get a pet? I’ll take good care of ‘im I promise... I managed to look after Sam okay didn’t I?”

“I’m not a pet”

Sam’s mumbled reply was quickly overlooked.

“Let’s go look then kid, but no promises.”

And with that they walked towards the _Eeylops Owl Emporium._ After looking amongst multiple birds, Dean finally decided upon a barn owl, which he gave the name Imp...short for Impala.

                                                                                          *

Soon, it was September 1st, and Dean was off for Hogwarts. As he stood, waving awkwardly from the train to Bobby and Sammy; Sam thought...he’d give anything to have the same chance at this his big brother had.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this XD  
> I had a bit of a hectic week so I didn't get to upload this when I wanted. For those who care, I turned 17 last Thursday! and my cat died two days ago. Love you Otto, this one is for you. :)
> 
> Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me.

 

Sam sighed. He had spent every single week of the summer waiting for his owl to come, and no luck. He only had a week until September 1st. _Maybe my Owl got lost?_ Sam thought, idly swinging his legs. He was sitting on the windowsill in his and Deans shared bedroom at Bobby’s. Well, it wasn’t exactly Bobby’s home anymore, more like their home too. Their dad hadn’t contacted them once in the four years since he left. Not that Dean cared anymore. He was off winning quidditch match trophies and being the ultimate teen heartthrob at Hogwarts.

When Dean started at Hogwarts, Sam and Bobby would get separate letters each and every week. Bobby’s were more on the academic side, how Dean was doing, how he was fitting in ect. Sam’s on the other hand were filled with the pure excitement Dean felt to be experiencing this new world. As Dean progressed throughout the school year, he sent less and less letters, and as of last year (Deans 4th school year at Hogwarts) Bobby and Sam got a grand total of 5 letters...not even separate ones any more but joined- kept minimalistic, and to one page.

Bobby told Sam not to worry any more, Dean was just a little bit busy with his school life, and that of course Dean still worried about Sam like crazy. Which was true Sam guessed, when Dean arrived home this summer he practically gave Sam the once over, and they’ve been pretty much joint at the hip since. Sam just wished that his big brother would just realise how lost Sam felt. He was pretty much alone here; sure he had Bobby and the new dog Rumsfield, but no friends of his age. The other kids at his school didn’t get Sam’s fascination with mythology, or understand why he could shoot a Smith & Wesson with his eyes closed (as shown on at show and tell) so they pretty much all steered away from him.

Sam sighed again, looking at the sky one more time before swinging off the windowsill and shutting the window. _Maybe he just wasn’t good enough._ Sam walked towards his bed and flopped down onto it before dragging out his old and battered copy of _Hogwarts: A history_. Maybe his letter would come in the time it would take him to re-read the book for like the thousandth time.

Sam had just gotten through the chapter on the four founders, when Dean came into the room. Sam didn’t even to look up to know of his brother’s presence, he could feel the shake of the room as Dean stomped through the small room, eventually standing directly before Sam.

“Can I help you Dean?” Sam asked, looking up at his brother, book still poised.

Dean motioned for Sam to scoot over on the bed. Sam sighed, and then shuffled to the side a bit to allow Dean to sit down. Grinning, Dean ruffled Sam’s hair (which Sam rushed to fix) and then let his face fall into a serious expression.

“How are you doing, Sam?” Dean asked, his voice showing hints of worry though he tried to cover it up as just a genuine question.

“I’m...ummm....I’m ok. That’s kind of a weird question to just ask me Dean, It’s not like you’ve not seen me all day.”

“I know kid, I have seen you. I’ve seen you every day of this summer, just sitting there by that window. So tell me again. How are you doing?” Dean said humourlessly, his worry a lot more evident.

Sam looked down, his face falling from that faux cheerful expression. He closed the book and pushed it to the far side of his bed before looking at Dean, shaking his head.

“I-I- I don’t know,” He said, his voice a mere whisper, as though he was afraid of admitting this, “I just want to get into Hogwarts. I don’t like it at my school, and yours seems so much better.... didn’t the lady say I had a place too? Why haven’t I got a letter? What if I-“

Dean cut him off by dragging him into a one armed hug, the other placed firmly on the bed so he could keep him balance.

“Shh. Sammy, It’ll be fine. You’ll get in. I know you will.”

They remained hugging for quite some time, before Dean pushed Sam away, and quickly told him to never mention the hug again. Nodding, Sam reached out for Hogwarts: A history once more as Dean ruffled his hair and left the room.

_I’ll get in...I have to._

               *

It wasn’t until the very next day when it happened. Sam and Dean were sitting at the table, bantering about who were a better American football team, the patriots or giants, when an owl suddenly came crashing in between them. The tawny owl was rather small, and as it hopped up and began fluttering it’s wings, dusting off the bits of cereal that it had landed on, the boys noticed two letters tied to its feet and a package.

“Isn’t that too heavy for the bird?” Bobby asked gruffly, walking towards the table, phone still on hold.

“Nah, they can practically carry anything, I mean did you see what I got Imp to send Sammy for his birthday last year?” Dean supplied chuckling as he helped Sam untie the parcel and letters from the owl.

“Go upstairs and there’ll be some food and rest for you, K?” Dean said to the bird, pointing it upstairs.

Handing Bobby the parcel (the portkey which they were to use when they were all packed to leave); Sam began opening his letter at lightening fast speed.

                                             **HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore**

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf Warlock**

**Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards.)**

**Dear Mr Winchester,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at.....**

 

Sam almost stopped breathing. This was it... He was going. Getting up rapidly, Sam bounded to the other side of the table and almost jumped on Dean in excitement. Dean grinned upwards at Sam, mouthing ‘I told you so’, before waving his 5th year booklist at Bobby.

“Alright boys, pack up! We’re getting ready to go.”

                                                                                          *

At noon the next day; Bobby, Sam and Dean were all back in Diagon Alley once more. They had taken the portkey that was in the package they had received the day before. The portkey had been a rusty old key, and once taken a hold of, it was almost as if Sam was whizzing through the time vortex himself. Even though he had done this on multiple occasions before, it never really got easier, and even two hours later he felt quite queasy. As they walked along the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley, Sam couldn’t help but feel that this felt so much more different to how it had every year since Dean’s acceptance. He guessed it was just the prospect that he was _finally_ starting his first year, which made it feel different. He was no longer here for Dean... He was here for both of them.

First stop was Gringotts, Bobby had opened some sort of ‘saving account’ within it, purely to help with the academic costs of Hogwarts. The building was grand; carved from smooth, white marble and towered over them as they approached it. It was kind of frightening, in a sense that a person could easily get lost inside, and never be found. Dean had told him horror stories that were whispered amongst the halls and corridors at Hogwarts. How five years ago, three students from Hogwarts had snuck into the bank, and were burned alive inside by a dragon. Sam looked at the door as if it was about to threaten him, gingerly walking into the building inside.

The inside of Gringotts was even grander than it was outside. Sam had never really been inside it before, He had always opted to remain outside for the half our Bobby was collecting the money. The building had been reconstructed a lot since the Great War. It was taller, grander. The inside was an even purer white marble than the outside, and in the centre of the miraculously carved ceiling, was a large chandelier.

Sam shuffled closer to Dean subconsciously; looking for some sort of safety from the harsh glances directed their way by the goblins.

“Stay ‘ere boys,” Bobby said, pointing to a rather plush set of seats in the corner.

Dean grumbled something about not being able to explore the bank, and pulled on the corner of Sam’s jacket in order to indicate that he should go and follow him. The both plopped down at the same time, which prompted them both to burst into a fit of giggles. If the looks from the Goblins could kill, Sam would be certain that he would be dead on the floor by now.

“So kid, you looking forward to Hogwarts?” Dean asked conversationally, already knowing the answer.

*

Once Bobby finished collecting the money that was needed, the three headed towards _Madam Malkins robes for all occasions._ The shop was extremely small in comparison to the bank, and Sam smiled at the warm feeling that engulfed him the moment he entered it. There were candles lighted over a warm crackling fireplace, and through an archway stood Madam Malkins, folding sheets and sheets of fabric neatly in shelves with her wand.

“Ah! Hello, Nice to see you again Mr Winchester,” she said looking at Dean, before her glance fell upon Sam, “And hello to your younger brother. Let me guess, Hogwarts? Come here boys!”

She moved round so that she was standing behind them, smiling good naturedly at Bobby and ushering the boys into the centre of the room.

“Actually, I don’t need a new pair of robes this year ma’am. Only Sammy!”

Dean ruffled Sam’s hair, and then walked towards Bobby. He leaned over and whispered something into Bobby’s ear, he caught Sam’s eye and grinned before waving and moving closer to the door.

“See you in a bit kid!” He called, and as the door swung shut and Sam could still hear his laughter loud and clear.

Swallowing hard, Sam looked at her. Even though Bobby was there, he felt entirely alone with her. Usually when Sam was in here, he sat on the cushions on the floor in the corner, normally reading a book. This time he was standing, posture rigid, arms out on either side, as Madam Malkins began to measure away. Bobby shuffled slightly, feeling like the odd one out in the room. Sam was busy getting his robes sorted, and Dean was off doing...well, he’d let that one be a surprise.

“Right, Sammy, I’m going off to go and get your books. You stay put, got it kid” He said gruffly, nodding at the woman who was tittering at the hole in Sam’s jeans.

Sam nodded at him as much as he could with the pressure of Madam Malkins hand which was now placed on his head.

_Ok...now he was on his own._

After a short while of Madam Malkins measuring away and pinning together pieces of clothing, there was a shrill sound coming from the door. With a flick of her wand, the rest of the pieces were pinned together in their respective place.

“Ah... a customer! Hang on there, sweetie. I’m just coming round” She called to the boy who stood awkwardly at the door.

He was extremely small, at least a head smaller than Sam. He has a short crop of messy dark blonde curls. He fiddled with his hands slightly, wringing them round and round. When Madam Malkins approached him, he jumped, startled, but righted himself immediately.

“Hogwarts?” She asked, pulling him into the centre of the room right beside Sam.

He nodded, curls bouncing and falling in front of his face. He looked at Sam quickly, and then looked back down to the floor.

_What is with this kid?_

“Hi” the boy mumbled, sidling slightly further away from robe maker.

She tittered again, pulling him back into the position he was in before. She looked at Sam apologetically, and waved her wand in his general direction. At first it didn’t work. She tapped in a few times then waved it more pointedly at the pieces of cloth pinned together on Sam. Immediately after this, the needle began to sew, stitching the pieces together. She then turned towards the boy in front of her, and began chatting aimlessly. Asking him questions about himself. Sam learnt that the boy was called Isaac, that he was a muggleborn, and was hoping of getting into Slytherin. Although, when Isaac mentioned that last part, he didn’t sound all that enthusiastic.

Flicking her wand once more, this time in Isaac’s direction, she moved on to Sam again. The needle had just finished sewing the robe, and to Sam, nothing looked wrong or out of place at all with it. She tutted a few times, and waved her wand at various areas, fixing nearly invisible problems. She waved her wand at his left sleeve, and it became slightly shorter, she fixed the collar of the robe and finally its overall length.

As she was finishing up, Bobby walked into the store, several large bags in his hands. _Books_ , he mouthed, when he noticed Sam looking in his direction. Madam Malkins smiled when the robe was finally finished, and took it off of Sam and folding it up as she walked towards her till. She began to chat to Bobby, as he handed over the correct payment, which allowed Sam to say goodbye to Isaac.

“See you at Hogwarts” he called, as Bobby was ushering him out of the store.

Once outside, Bobby handed over two of the bags to Sam and began guiding him down the cobbled street. Looking around, Sam took a deep breath. He loved this place, he didn’t want to leave, but at the same time he did. He was ready for Hogwarts.

Bobby grunted, and suddenly the direction they were walking to changed. Disorientated, Sam looked around, trying to place where they were walking to. He stopped looking, when he finally spotted Dean leaning against the wall. With him Dean had the rest of Sam’s equipment; the trunk, the scales and cauldron...everything. Except, there was one addition Sam had not counted on. Balanced on top of the bags, was an owl cage.

Sam gasped, and next thing he knew, he was standing right in front of the owl. It was a tiny thing, much smaller than Imp. It was small and its feathers were pitch black. It stopped zipping about in its cage, and perched inside it, to look quizzically at Sam.

“Is it mine?” Sam asked in awe.

“O’course he’s yours kiddo. Dean here got him for you as a....joined, celebratory present” Bobby said gruffly, smiling down at Sam.

“Celebratory? What for?” He asked, curious. Not that he wasn’t grateful for the owl; Sam loved it to pieces already. He was just very confused.

“Well I didn’t exactly want you to keep trying to use Imp to send your letters. But really, it’s just because you’re starting Hogwarts.” Dean laughed.

Sam’s expression was priceless really. His eyes were wide with shock, and he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. He reached out for the cage and, grasping the handle, held it up higher so that he could look at the owl closer.

“Just one thing, this one had a name already. Sorry kiddo. It’s kind of funny though. He’s called Moose. Weird right?”

Same smiled. Oddly, no matter how ironic, Moose seemed to fit his name perfectly.

Moose chirped in agreement.

                                                                                          *

10 minutes to go.

Sam, Dean and Bobby stood on the busy platform of nine and three quarters. Next to both of them, was a trolley with their trunks on, Deans broomstick and the cages for Moose and Imp. There was a snuffling sound from the left of Sam, and turning round he saw Bobby. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he was sniffing.

“Uncle Bobby, Are you ok?” Sam asked, genuinely concerned.

Dean laughed, and leaning down, whispered loudly that Bobby was crying happy tears because he no longer had to deal with Sam all year round.

“JERK!” Sam exclaimed, pushing Dean away from him.

Dean feigned hurt, and then continued to laugh. Bobby shook his head at the sight.

5 minutes to go.

“Ok, you boys have to go now, I’ll go and take the luggage to the conductor, you boys board the train with those blasted birds. Got it?” Bobby asked, handing each boy their respective owl.

They both nodded in the affirmative, and Dean began to walk slightly away, towards the closest train door. Sam quickly pulled Bobby into a hug, and then clutching Moose tightly, he ran towards his big brother.

It was time to go to Hogwarts.


	3. Chapter 3

If Sam thought the platform was busy, then in comparison the train was outright jam packed. The train corridor was long and narrow, with a multitude of Hogwarts students squeezing through gaps to get to where they wanted to be. Sam felt, more than saw, Dean pat him on his back good naturedly, then he was gone. Sam spun around, clutching Moose’ cage desperately looking for his older brother, but all he could see was the hustle and bustle of his fellow school mates. Sam felt entirely disorientated. The combined body heat of the people in the corridor was sweltering, and Sam soon found himself ducking through all the gaps between the people to get away from that hellhole of a corridor.

Sam leaned against a wall in the corridor, breathing deeply. He just had to find somewhere to stay, one little place that he could sit down in. Suddenly Sam felt the wall behind him jolt, and then he was falling backwards with a grunt.

                                                                                          *

As Sam opened his eyes, he shot up into a sitting position in shock. For looking down on him were two faces. Two faces he’d never seen before, he might add, and it wasn’t the fact that these two faces were there that shocked Sam, but rather the fact that they were staring at him intently. Scooting away from these faces, Sam blinked blearily. What on earth had just happened? He craned his neck towards were he fell and saw that the moving wall hadn’t been a moving wall at all, and that it was in fact a door.

One of the two faces laughed at his confusion, and Sam jumped… he’d almost forgotten they were there. He blinked again and looked at the two faces intently. The two faces were in fact two girls, about the same age as Sam, maybe a year older. Girl one was smaller than girl two and her face was slightly rounded and tilted to the side. Her green eyes were staring at him, as if she was analysing him. Feeling slightly unnerved by Girl one, Sam turned towards Girl two instead. She was noticeably taller and her skin was a rich caramel colour. She was looking at him far more kindly than Girl one so Sam decided that he’d rather speak to her first.

‘Uhh… hi?’ he asked nervously, slowly standing up and backing away slightly.

Girl two laughed at that, and stood up too, Girl one following suit.

‘Hello, I’m Hannah, would you like to sit with us?’ she asked, taking a hold of Moose’s fallen cage and handing her over to Sam.

He nodded slowly in reply and grasping Moose’s cool cage handle, he sat down facing the two girls.

                                                                                          *

In another compartment on the Hogwarts express, Nico Di Angelo sat by himself, curled up in his seat and reading a book on Greek Mythology. He was rather small for an 11 year old, but there was something about him sitting there in the shadows, that would make a person stop to look at him. The shadows in the carriage enveloped him, making his tanned skin and dark hair appear even darker.

To be honest, Nico was quite content sitting by himself. He had never been a ‘people person’ as his sister was often described as. He preferred to spend his time alone, reading his favourite book or playing with his cards. Anyway, his sister was off with her friends in another carriage, so what was the point of being social when he could read more about Jason and the Argonauts?

He sighed and put his book down. He didn’t want to read his book all at once, no matter how captivating it was. He slid his book into his bag which lay at his feet, and in turn, pulled out his mythmomagic cards.  As he began shuffling them, he heard a thump against his carriage door. He turned around quickly, in time to see a boy come crashing in and slamming the door shut.

The boy was noticeably tall for his age, looking to be around 11. The boy had a dark crop of hair, slicked back with gel, and which contrasted greatly to his pale face. Even at 11, this boy no longer held what was often affectionately referred to as ‘puppy fat’. His face was sharp; with prominent cheekbones and a pointed chin.

The pale boy grinned at him mischievously, before putting his fingers to his thin lips, obviously signalling Nico to be silent. The boy sat down opposite Nico still grinning, and shaking his leg restlessly with pure excitement.

 ‘What on earth-‘ he started to ask, only to have the other boy lean forward and press his finger against Nico’s mouth to get him to stop talking. Nico stared at the boy, eyes wide in shock.

‘I put an exploding wheezbee in my brother’s cloak, he should be finding out just about now!’ the boy explained gleefully.

Just as he spoke, several screams could be heard from a compartment further down the train, followed by a deafening roar. The boy giggled slightly, then withdrawing his finger, he gave a mischievous grin.

‘Loki’, he said, introducing himself, palm stretched out.

‘Nico’, Nico responded, giving a slight smile in return, and quickly shaking Loki’s hand.

                                                                                          *

Sam smiled nervously in girl one’s direction. He had sat in their compartment for a little while now, and though Hannah had engaged him in several conversations, girl one had stuck to staring at him intently. Despite this, he had learnt a bit more about Hogwarts, and the girls themselves. He had discovered that these two girls were in their second year, and there was in fact _no_ magic test before sorting ( _thanks a lot Dean_ ). Hannah had told him of the boats they had to use to get to the castle, and how extravagant the building is.

Sam smiled at her, and nodded for her to continue her speech about the new potions master.

‘You’re okay...I guess’

Sam whipped his head up, and stared at girl one. She had spoken somewhat begrudgingly, but looked far more approachable than she had originally. She smiled at his reaction, before sitting forwards so that she was actually sitting nearer to Hannah and Sam.

In a thick cockney accent, she introduced herself as Sydney, before settling backwards against the back of the chair and resuming her staring.

‘Sorry about her, she’s not a people person’ Hannah explained.

Sydney grunted in agreement, before reaching into her bag and pulling out a book to read. Sam looked at the two girls in confusion before shaking his head slightly, and looking back at Hannah. He hated to admit it, but he was actually having a pretty okay time. Hannah was nice, and took her time explaining things to him. The fact that she wasn’t obviously his senior helped too. Even Sydney sitting there, staring at him with her blank gaze wasn’t too bad.

‘So,’ Sam asked, leaning forward, ‘just how many ghosts are there in the building… in total?’

Hannah smiled, as if she’d been waiting for someone to ask her this question her entire life, before going into one long spiel about the differences between house ghosts and where they came from.

                                                                                          *

‘Oh my God, do you see her hair? Like, I know she’s only what? A first year…. But seriously that tramp needs to sort her appearance out’ Harriet Watson said chatting to her friend who sat next to her whilst picking at a spot on her chin.

She was a tall girl, around 15 years of age, with dirty blonde hair and of a heavy build. Even sitting down, she made her friend look like a pixie in comparison.

Her friend nodded in agreement, eying at a small brown haired girl in the corner of their compartment.

Harriet looked at the girl in disgust, and then proceeded to get up.

‘Listen Johnny,’ she said addressing her little brother, ‘I’m not going to repeat this twice, and I’m sure to hell ain’t gonna give you any other advice than this… If you want to be popular…like me! I suggest you go find yourself some better friends!’

And with that Harriet clipped her brother on the side of his ear and flounced out of the compartment, her friend at her heels.

John Watson, red as a tomato, kept his head down and gaze adverted when the two other occupants in the compartment looked at him.

The small girl brushed her hair out of her eyes slightly and looked at him with a sad gaze.

‘It’s okay, I’m not offended or anything’ she muttered, trying to make him feel better.

John nodded. He hated his sister. She always treated him like utter crap and this was just a snippet of their average ‘conversation’. The less civil ones could turn ugly fast. Seeing his lack of belief in her statement, she tried to start a conversation with him about what house they wanted to be in, but only got as far as the word ‘Hogwarts’ when the other boy in the compartment cut across her and dismissed her topic of choice as trivial.

‘Enough of this talk on houses,’ he said haughtily, ‘We’ve spoken about them already, and repeating the conversation again just seems so tiring. Why talk of something when it won’t happen for _hours?’_

The boy fell back against his backrest in a dramatic fashion, black curls bouncing.

‘She was only trying to help make this situation a bit less awkward, and what _should_ we talk about then, if this is all too boring for you?’ John said, angry on the girls behalf, and glaring at the boy.

The boy gave a small laugh, before looking at John delighted to be given the chance to answer this question.

‘What _I_ want to talk about is that latest murder down in Godric’s Hollow! That lady’s eyes were liquefied, and _I’ve_ never heard of any spell that does that!’

‘Well maybe it’s just a case for the muggle police then! Not everything has to do with magic.’ John huffed.

‘Even so, It is a curiosity isn’t it. Though, if you do want to be _boring_ , let’s talk about that death that happened last year in Hogwarts itself’ the boy said with excited glee, as if what he suggested wasn’t going to be boring at all, but quite the opposite.

John nodded at the boy to continue.

‘Well, I heard from _brother dear_ ’, he said the last part mockingly, ‘That there was this girl last year, a bit of a nuisance to the student population and staff, and one day she decided to charm one of the food pots at dinner in the great hall, but the spell went wrong, and suddenly all the sauce inside the pot spilled out onto the floor and multiplied. It was like a flood apparently. Anyway, _obviously_ trying to get away with it, she ran away from the hall, but ended up slipping on the sauce and got her head chopped right off with an axe from one of those suits of armour…’

The girl gasped in horror at the story, but John laughed, dismissing the whole thing as just that. One, long, elaborate, carefully thought out, story.

‘Even if it is just a story, it’s awfully interesting,’ the boy said, ‘running away as a way of avoiding being caught? Rookie mistake. Also, what ignorant imbecile gets _that_ spell wrong? I knew it when I was 5!’

John grunted….  _Of course this boy knew a complex spell at 5… of course!_

The boy leaned forward and looking at the two opposite him with absolute delight, he stage whispered the question he was dying to ask, ‘The killer question is, excuse the pun, what sauce was it?’

At that, John burst out laughing, the boy following suit, and the girl giving a slight nervous titter.

The boy glanced out of the window, and looking back at John he said with a smirk, ‘Looks like we’re here. Interested in finding out more about this death? And possibly more murders?’

‘God yes!’ John replied, before stopping and looking at the other two who were already at the compartment door.

‘One question, what are your names?’

‘Molly Hooper.’

‘Sherlock Holmes.’

John smiled at the two, proceeding to follow them out of the carriage.

                                                                                          *

Clambering out of the train, Sam looked warily about the platform. Sydney and Hannah had scarpered off to find some of their second year friends, and he was now alone, on a platform. Looking back at the scarlet train, Sam saw person after person climbing down from the train in little groups chatting away. Glancing back down the platform, Sam saw his brother walking along with his group of people, and a whole lot of other people trailing behind in awe.

‘First years! First years!’ came a booming voice from the end of the platform. Squinting, Sam saw a very large man in the distance holding a lantern of glowing golden light.

Walking quickly down the platform, Sam somehow managed to attach himself to another group of first years who were chatting loudly about Hogwarts and how they were going to get there.

‘I don’t know about you but I’m really excited, I mean I can’t wait, can you imagine learning magic? It sounds so exciting –’

 _Omph_. The red headed girl fell over, her arms flailing wildly. One arm caught on the dark haired boy beside her with slicked back hair. Loki.

Chuckling, the girl jumped right back up giving a wild grin and proceeded chat again loudly about all the art opportunities there’ll be at Hogwarts, and ‘omg wow, did you know there were moving pictures all over the castle?’

The girl jumped up and down wildly once more, as Nico Di Angelo mentioned that his father and step mother had a moving picture in their home. Glancing back she noticed Sam, who when he noticed her piercing green eyes upon him, he gave an awkward wave. The girl stopped walking, allowing him to catch up before jumping right back into her high speed chatter.

‘Hi! What’s your name? I’m Rachel Elizabeth Dare, What about you? Are you excited, I am, I want to be in Ravenclaw, you? And omg can you imagine the things they’ll be teaching us here and all the careers we could have? I want to be an artist…. Sorry, I talk a lot when I’m nervous’ she trailed off, smiling at him slightly.

Sam smiled back, despite the high-speed-talking-marathon, she seemed friendly enough.

‘I’m Sam, and uhhh, Ravenclaw sounds pretty cool…. Anything but Gryffindor’, Sam said honestly.

Nico looked at Sam oddly, ‘Not Slytherin?’ he asked confused.

‘I don’t find Slytherin that bad, I just don’t want to be in the same house as my brother.’

‘Who’s your brother then?’ Loki asked.

Sam grimaced; he didn’t really want to tell everyone who his brother was… otherwise there’d be all these expectations… _Oh, you’re brother is quidditch captain? Why don’t you want to try out for the team?_

Rachel, Nico and Loki looked at him expectantly.

‘Uh…My brothers Dean. Dean Winchester.’

Rachel looked at him confused, then shrugged as she saw Nico and Loki look at each other quickly upon recognising Deans name.

‘Dean Winchester? Woah…he’s like the most popular kid in school. I should know, Thor’s like his best friend or whatever’ Loki supplied, before adding that Thor was in fact his brother.

‘My sister is in love with him’, Nico said bitterly, thinking back to all the times his sister had gushed about the handsome Dean Winchester when she was home.

There was an awkward pause, as the group walked silently towards the large man. Stopping at the crowd of first years, Sam leaned over towards Nico and happily said, ‘My brother isn’t all that, I’m sure she’ll find someone she likes…. If you want I can tell her all about his gross habits!’

Nico gave a small laugh, and turned towards the man.

‘Righ’ me name’s Hagrid. I‘m the keeper o’ key’s an’ groun’s a’ Hogwarts, an’ the care o’ magical creatures professor.’

Hagrid looked down at the group.

‘Is this all of yeh?’ He asked, looking around at the shivering group of prospective first years.

‘Righ’ best be off then, follow me first years!’

and with that, they were off.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm alive! I'm so so sorry for how delayed this has been. I owe you all the biggest apology, and it is completely my fault. I'm in my second year of A-Levels right now, so I've been falling behind on this story.  
> Also, as you may be able to tell from how long this chapter is in comparison to my other ones, I changed the structure of my chapters so that they actually have more stuff going in them. Seeing as this story is going from Sam's first year to his last, I figured if I had less chapters there'd be less repetition.  
> I hope you all have had a good Christmas, and if you don't celebrate it, I hope you've had a good winter! :3  
> Now onto the chapter I am the most excited for... the sorting... and basically everything else :P  
> And yes. This whole thing is just me shamelessly chucking all my favourite characters into one massive story.  
> Thanks for sticking with me!  
> Finally, I'd like to say a special thank you to Tanya, who's painstakingly stayed with me through this whole chapter and all the editing :P

Getting to Hogwarts was harder than Sam thought it would be. This was mainly due to the fact that out of everything he was told by both Dean and Hannah, they had both failed to mention any form of travelling by boat. Of course, his life on the road had practically made him immune to any form of travel sickness, but that didn’t make him any less wary of the wooden boat beneath him. Last time Sam had been in a lake, he’d been almost torn apart by a lake monster. Sam winced at the memory. Sam eyed the boat warily as he clambered inside. The boat creaked loudly, tiping slightly to the side. Sam fought down the urge to flee the boats and looked over his shoulder to see Rachel jump into the boat with a splash. She flashed a grin at him and despite the uneasiness he felt, he couldn’t help but smile in return. Soon he couldn’t keep the look of pure excitement from his face.

‘I can’t wait until we get there, it’ll be amazing!’ she said, scooting forwards so that her face was right beside Sam’s. He nodded in agreement.

‘I mean, just imagine it. A grand castle and a massive forest surrounding it! It’ll be like something from a Disney movie!’ Rachel was practically jumping up and down in her seat as she spoke, arms flailing wildly.

As they began talking about what the castle would look like inside, they both felt a weight added to the boat. Expecting Nico or Loki, Rachel spun around with her wild grin but was met with a stony faced boy with ice blonde hair to match his cold expression instead.

‘What are _you_ looking at?’ the boy spat, folding his arms together and scowling at the two people in front of him.

‘Dirty half-bloods’, the boy muttered. He gave them another disgusted glare.

Sam’s eyes narrowed, offended by this boys lack of kindness. Turning towards Rachel, Sam saw her mouth pressed together tightly and her green eyes glaring at the boy brightly. She did not look impressed. The boy looked slightly unnerved by the two of them staring at him so intently, but quickly hardened his gaze. Rachel opened her mouth to retort.

_Who did he think he was? talking like that…_

With a shake of Sam’s head however, she closed her mouth and spun back round so that she didn’t have to look at his face anymore. Sam smiled at her. He knew that she would be willing to fight the guy if it came down to it but he wasn’t going to be a part of any fight. Especially not on his first day at Hogwarts _on_ a moving boat!

‘Way to have the mood spoiled.’ She huffed, glancing back at the blonde boy, who narrowed his eyes further at her in return, so that they looked like they were hardly open at all. Sam nodded once again, and looked around searching for a boat with Loki and Nico inside of it. Elbowing Rachel slightly, he pointed her in the direction of a boat to their left where Nico and Loki were sitting accompanied by another first year. Their boat had started moving before the others had, magically, towards the castle.

‘Are you excited? I am. My brother’s always talking about Hogwarts. It sounds amazing. Thor’s ever so popular, but some time’s his actions can be a bit… rash. Everyone wants me to be like him. I don’t really; I want to be my own person. Sometimes I wish I was adopted…’ Loki rambled before leaning further forwards towards Nico, nudging him with his sharp elbows when he noticed Nico’s lack of response.

‘Hey, you okay?’ Loki asked, somewhat concerned that his new friend wasn’t joining in the conversation.

Nico went to nod, however at that precise moment the wooden boat tipped dangerously to the side and his stomach lurched. As soon as it had tipped one way, the boat had fallen back into its previous position. Laughing, Loki leant closer to Nico once again, shaking off the water from his hair. Loki’s grin fell when he noticed Nico’s hands gripping the sides of the boat tightly, his knuckles white.

‘Don’t like boats, huh?’ Loki asked sympathetically. Nico looked a complete wreck, not like Loki would actually tell him that though.

Nico slowly shook his head, his eyes pinched shut. Not knowing what to do, Loki placed his hand on Nico’s shoulder and squeezed himself into the space beside Nico, so that the two were tightly pressed together at the front of the boat.

‘It’ll be okay,’ Loki murmured, keeping an eye out for if Nico was to get worse. Nico only hummed half-heartedly in response.

They stayed like that for a while, Loki awkwardly holding Nico, who’s normally olive –skinned disposition had gone a sickly white, and muttering small reassurances.

‘HEADS DOWN!’ yelled Hagrid, just as the first few boats reached the cliff.

Nico and Loki bent their heads as their little boat was carried through a curtain of ivy and along a dark tunnel. The boat came to a standstill at what was appeared to be a small harbour. All the first years clambered out of their boats and onto the pebbles and rocks. Some girl with long blonde hair stumbled a bit on one pebble before falling over. Loki grimaced before looking towards Nico, noticing that he still looked a tad green. Nico smiled at him.

‘I’ve never been all that good on boats,’ Nico admitted, before changing the topic quickly and pointing up excitedly

‘I think we’re actually underneath the castle!’ he said in pure excitement.

A few other first years heard him and began talking in delight. They were all so close.

Hagrid took them all round the corner until they reached a small door. The wooden panelling looked damp and worn down, however in the gaps between the door and the great stone walls Sam could see a golden light. He held his breath in anticipation and as Hagrid swung open these doors to the castle and collective gasps of many of his fellow classmates could be heard. As they all slowly walked inside, Sam finally understood why Dean could never put his second home into words. It was simply breath taking.

The walls were made from large stone slabs that went so high that Sam suspected that they’d reach the stars. Sam put his hand upon the wall beside him, feeling the worn down slabs in awe. Hung on the walls were paintings that moved. Sam felt his jaw drop open. He knew they existed of course, he didn’t read ‘Hogwarts: A History’ for nothing, but looking at the scenes in the paintings where the young maiden or great knight were conversing with other people in other paintings… it was all just so _magical._

The group of first years ascended up the stone stairs until Hagrid stopped them all on the landing of the first floor.

‘Righ’ I best be off. Wait here, Professor McGonagall will be out in a minute’ he said gruffly, giving the first years a quick smile before heading back down the stairs with a few grunts.

The first years huddled awkwardly, whispering amongst themselves when a lady in an emerald green cloak stopped in front of them. She had a rather stern expression on her face, and her greying dark hair was swept up in a tight bun. Her eyes scanned the crowded students in front of her before stopping on the rude blonde boy, who, in the light, looked entirely dishevelled. Sam almost felt sorry for him.

Professor McGonagall turned to the party of 11 year olds.

‘Welcome to Hogwarts, if you would all follow me’ she said, leading the first years past the large doors on the left and into a small chamber beside it.

‘The start of term banquet will begin shortly,’ she continued, ‘but first, you must all be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony, for during your time here, your house will be your family. You will have your classes with your house, spend your free time in your own common room and sleep in your house dormitory. For those of you who do not know, there are four houses at Hogwarts, these are called Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.’

After McGonagall mentioned Slytherin, Sam almost immediately heard mutters and whispers from behind him. Nico gestured for Sam to get closer, but before Sam even managed to move the entire group fell silent at McGonagall’s pointed look.

‘Each house has produced excellent and outstanding witches and wizards,’ she continued, ‘While you are here you are to report to your house at all times; any of your triumphs here will be rewarded with house points, while any rulebreaking will consequently cause you to loose them. At the end of each academic year, the points for each house are totalled, and the house with the most of these points will be awarded the house cup. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house you’ll become a member of.

The ceremony will take place shortly, in front of the rest of the school. While you are waiting, I suggest,’ she shot a pointed glare at the rude blonde boy, ‘that you smarten yourselves up as much as possible.’

There were a few snickers at the boys expense, but he straightened up his posture, and glared at everyone looking at him. Sam felt even sorrier for him now. McGonagall looked once more at the group in front of her.

‘I will return shortly, and when I do, I expect you all to follow me into the great hall’.

Sam heard a small chorus of ‘yes miss’ coming from behind him to the left. Professor McGonagall nodded slightly, and then left the chamber.

Now, with nothing else to do, the first years began to chat amongst themselves quietly. Turning towards Nico, Sam gave him a questioning look before asking him what he was going to say earlier. At this, Nico gave a small laugh before answering him.

‘There is not a single witch or wizard who didn’t turn out bad, who didn’t start off in Slytherin’ he stated.

‘There has to be some from the other houses!’ Rachel said accusingly, hands on her hips.

‘Maybe, but not any of the noticeable ones at least,’ Loki said, ‘and Nico, you’re forgetting that some of the best witches and wizards came from Slytherin too! Merlin was a Slytherin, as was Severus Snape, and he became a headmaster’

Loki looked rather proud with his knowledge, so Nico let his argument go. Rachel at least looked pretty happy with the fact that Nico wasn’t entirely right.

The three of them began discussing the qualities each member of each house was supposed to possess in great detail, however Sam’s gaze ended up on the blonde boy, who was struggling on trying to make his too-large-for-his-body clothes look a bit more tidy whilst muttering under his breath.

‘I’ll be right back,’ Sam said before walking towards the boy.

Sam stopped just before the boy, who lifted his head to meet Sam’s eyes. Swallowing thickly, Sam introduced himself.

‘Hi… uh, my name’s Sam.’ He said, shooting a small smile in the boys direction whilst holding his hand in the air.

The boy squinted his eyes at Sam, and then glared at him so more.

‘The name’s Augustus, Octavian Augustus.’ He said arrogantly adding his first name afterwards as if it wasn’t as important as his surname.

He still didn’t take Sam’s palm which was still held in the air.

Sam would openly admit now, that he didn’t exactly try his hardest to make friends with Octavian at that moment. His whole personality seemed to scream rude, and Octavian obviously thought he was better than everyone else. Sam opened his mouth to say something back to him, to try and make a friendly conversation, but Octavian only snorted at his attempt and walked off to the very edge of the group. Annoyed, Sam returned to Rachel, Loki and Nico.

Rachel shot him a sympathetic look, ‘sometimes people are just not worth it,’ she said loudly, projecting her voice so Octavian could hear. Loki and Nico nodded in agreement.

‘I just don’t know what his problem is’ Sam said dejectedly.

Before one of the other three could even try to comfort him, each one of them jumped, as speeding through the chamber was a ghost riding a horse.

‘Gun-ho!’ The ghost cried, his horse galloping straight through the crowd of first years and then the wall beside them.

The first years began to chatter loudly, because ‘oh wow! Did you see that ghost?’ They spoke so loudly in fact that they failed to notice Professor McGonagall’s return to the chamber.

‘The sorting ceremony is about to start,’ she called out in a sharp voice, ‘come along now’.

Sam took a deep breath, and with shakey legs began to follow Professor McGonagall out of the chamber and towards the great hall doors… This was it. The moment he’d been waiting for. He was terrified. Sam glanced back at the rest of the first years behind him, they all looked as scared as he was, even Octavian.

‘Form a line, please’ McGonagall instructed.

The first years shuffled around until they made a semi decent line. At the front was Sam, and too be honest, he wasn’t very happy with that development. He would be the very first one of them that everyone was going to see… what if he messed up? He wasn’t able to dwell on this for much longer as a collective gasp from the rest of his year alerted Sam to the fact that they had ended up in the great hall.

The whole hall was simply amazing. In the air, were candles that floated; suspended in the air without anything attached to them, above four long tables. A table, Sam assumed for each house. At these tables sat the rest of the Hogwarts students, and the tables themselves were laid with golden plates and goblets. At the very end of the hall, was one long table on a raised platform, which looked down at the four houses. Seated at this table were the teachers. Professor McGonagall led the first years towards this table, and in order to avert the looks from the other pupils, Sam looked down at the stone floor. His brother was in the same position 4 years ago. Sam could do this.

Looking up, Sam saw Professor McGonagall place a stool on the raised platform in front of the table. And on this stool sat a very large, frayed and pointed wizards hat. The hall was oddly quiet, and as Sam looked round the hall he noticed that everyone was staring at the hat, thinking that he too should look at this hat, Sam turned round to notice that the rip in brim of the hat was opening.

In a loud voice, the hat began to sing;

‘You may not think me handsome,

But that I must detest,

For when it comes to the sorting,

I truly am the best.

Large and scruffy,

Aesthetically I am not pretty,

Yet, I can capture all your gazes,

Simply, with this rhyming ditty.

I am the Hogwarts sorting hat,

There is nothing I do not know,

Simply by placing me on your head,

I know a friend from a foe.

Try me on,

If you please,

And then I can tell,

Which house you are ought to be.

Nerve and chivalry,

Sets Gryffindor apart,

Decorated with crimson and gold,

You must be brave and daring at heart.

Always hard working and patient,

And Loyalty being important the most,

The fair playing Hufflepuff,

Makes a very fitting host.

Wise old Ravenclaw,

Full of wit and knowledge,

For those with a keen mind,

And to the eagle, they pay homage.

Slytherin is where real friends are made,

Those of great cunning and skill,

Whose great ambition and resourcefulness,

Will help them reach what they wish to fulfil.

Don’t be afraid,

Just put me on,

Which house will you end up?

Let the sorting go on!’

 

The hall burst into applause, and the hat nodded in acknowledgement before falling limp. Professor McGonagall walked to stand to in front of the hat, and addressed the first years in front of her, telling them that when she called  their name, they had to go and sit on the stool and put the unusual hat on.

She stepped forward, to give the students some room by the stool, and opened up a long scroll.

‘Adler, Irene’

A tall pale, sharp faced girl with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail stalked towards the stall. She sat on it, and before the hat had even fully settled on her head, it had already called out in a loud voice, ‘SLYTHERIN’.

Irene ran off towards the table on the far right which was cheering loudly.

Next up was ‘Anderson, Blaine’ who ended up in Hufflepuff, quickly followed by a new Ravenclaw by the name of ‘Arendale, Anna’ and then yet another Slytherin was added to the mix with ‘Argent, Allison’.

‘Asgard, Loki’

The hall fell silent, each gaze upon Loki. He took a deep breath, glanced quickly to Sam and Rachel on his right and Nico on his left before slowly walking up to the stool, and placing the hat on his head. From this position, he could already see his brother smirking over at the Gryffindor table.

‘hmmmmm,’ came a voice in Loki’s ear…. The hat, ‘another Asgard… I wonder what to do with you.

 _Not Gryffindor, Not Gryffindor, Not Gryffindor…._ Loki repeated, almost like a mantra… anything to not be in the same house as Thor.

‘Not Gryffindor, eh? Why not, it could very well lead you on the road to greatness. No? hmmmmm…. Very difficult. You’re loyal yes… but to an extent…. That wouldn’t suit a Hufflepuff well… How about Ravenclaw? No no. You’re clever, and witty but far more cunning. I say,’ there was complete silence in the hall, ‘SLYTHERIN!’

Loki gave a small smile, then hopping off the stool ran over to join the other two slytherin first years at their table.

 _One down… three of us to go_ , Sam thought, watching a larger Slytherin, reach over the table and shake Loki’s hand.

Octavian was next, and of course, he landed himself in Slytherin. Then came an extremely small boy by the name of ‘Baggins, Bilbo’ who became a Hufflepuff. ‘Blye, Kensi’ became the first Gryffindor, and received the biggest amount of cheers from any of the tables so far. Next up was ‘Carmen, Ailsa’, a small Scottish girl with ginger hair and freckles. As she jumped up onto the stool, the hat almost immediately cried that she was in Slytherin house, and giving on quick smirk towards a shoer sandy haired boy she ran off towards her table. She was quickly followed by a ‘Carter, Evelyn’ who became a Hufflepuff, and ‘Cohen-Chang, Tina’ who ended up in Slytherin and a ‘Count, Laura’ who became the first member of her year to enter Ravenclaw House. The group of first years standing at the front of the hall looked even smaller now, with 12 of them off to their respective houses.

‘Dare, Rachel’

Rachel blinked… she was next? She wasn’t supposed to be next… gods this was going by quickly. She took in a deep breath, and walked confidently to the stall. Sitting down, she gave a smile to Sam and Nico, before the hat fell down on her head, going past her eyes.

The result was almost instantaneous for her, with a quick dilemma over whether or not to put her in Gryffindor, she was placed in Ravenclaw for her intelligence, and creativity.

 _Two down…two to go_. Sam counted down. Just him and Nico… He could do this….

‘Di Angelo, Nico’

Sam blanched… _no no no_ , he was on his own as Nico walked up towards the stool. Looking around the group of first years, Sam noticed that the shaggy blonde haired boy by the name of ‘Deeks, Martin’ was sitting with the Hufflepuff table.

After several minutes of silence, the hat spoke up, and placed Nico in Slytherin. Once again there were quite a few cheers from the Slytherin table, and Nico settled himself next to Loki. Nico smiled, as he saw his sister Bianca cheer for him from the Gryffindor table.

 _Three down. Just him_ , Sam thought.

Next up was another incredibly small first year, ‘Durin, Kili’ who ended up in Gryffindor. ‘DunBroch, Merida’ was next, being sorted into Gryffindor, which was oddly fitting with her vibrant red hair that even put Rachel’s to shame.  Merida was quickly followed by ‘Garcia, Penelope’ a Ravenclaw, and a fellow Gryffindor called ‘Grace, Jason’. ‘Haddock, Hiccup’ fell up the platform steps… and back down them after he was announced a ‘HUFFLEPUFF!’

‘Hofferson, Astrid’, the friend of the boy named Hiccup, was then placed in Gryffindor.

‘Holmes, Sherlock’ was next; he walked confidently up to the stool, black robes behind him. He smirked at John and Molly who were to the side of the group of first years.

The hat didn’t even speak to Sherlock, just declared him a Ravenclaw almost immediately, and Sherlock flounced off to sit beside Rachel. Who tried to bring Sherlock into a conversation, but was almost immediately flipped off with a hand signal.

‘Hooper, Molly’

Just like Sherlock, her being placed in Ravenclaw was a quick decision, which shocked Sherlock so much that he actually turned to Rachel and said ‘she didn’t look smart on the train’. Rachel scoffed, and almost immediately started an in depth conversation with Molly once she had sat down.

The sorting moved on quite quickly after that. ‘Hummel, Kurt’ ended up in Slytherin after much deliberation on the hats part. After him came two Gryffindors ‘Jarau, Jennifer’ and ‘Lahey, Isaac’ quickly followed by consecutive Slytherins, ‘Levesque, Hazel’ and ‘Lopez, Santana’. ‘Martin, Lydia’ became a Ravenclaw with  a ‘McCall, Scott’ then becoming a member of Gryffindor house.

At the Slytherin table, the older years seemed pretty smug with the ones they had ended up with so far. Nico and Loki were sitting next to each other talking to Hazel, who was a pretty chocolate skinned girl with wild cinnamon coloured curls.

Next up was ‘McLean, Piper’ who received one small whistle from the back of the hall before the boy was quickly stopped by other students nearby him. She was sorted into Ravenclaw. She was followed up by three Hufflepuffs, ‘Noble, Donna’, ‘Novak, Oliver’ and ‘Pascal, Rapunzel’. That last girl’s hair was pretty impressive, almost touching her toes.

Yet another red headed girl named ‘Pond, Amy’ ended up in Gryffindor, high-fiving Merida as she sat down.

‘Reid, Spencer’ became a Ravenclaw, and ‘Rhudar, Ori’ a Hufflepuff. There were just seven of the first years left standing awkwardly at the front of the hall, Sam included.

Next up was a blonde haired, tanned boy who was unusually tall for a first year. He gave the hat a dazzling smile as his name was called up and after being placed in Hufflepuff ‘Solace, William’ made his way to his new table.

As Professor McGonagall announced the name of ‘Stilinski—‘ there was a loud screech coming from the double doors and a small man with a cat hobbled in. Nevertheless, the boy with closely shaved hair fell into the stall and was announced a ‘Ravenclaw’.

Four people left at the front.

‘Valdez, Leo’

‘GRYFFINDOR!’

‘Watson, John’

‘Gryffindor!’

As John made his way to the Gryffindor table with Leo, he received a rather sad smile from Sherlock at the Ravenclaw table.

Just two of them left at the front. Sam, and a Chinese boy, who looked much too large to be a first year, yet had a rather round and babyish disposition which counteracted that thought.

‘Winchester, Samuel’

Sam almost couldn’t breathe, his legs felt like they were made of lead and his palms were sweaty. What if he didn’t get into a house? He’d be sent right home. He would never be able to look Dean in the eyes again. Dean. Sam looked up as he sat down on the stool trying to find Dean. It wasn’t hard really, Dean was the only one not looking up at him sitting on the stool, but was attempting to flirt with a Hufflepuff boy on the table next to him.

Great… Thanks for the support Dean.

‘Dean?’ the sorting hat asked after it was placed onto Sam’s head. ‘ahh another Winchester. I could place you in Gryffindor. You could be just like him. But that’s not what you want is it? You want to reach the top your own way. You’re hardworking and patient… could easily be a Hufflepuff, and you are extremely resourceful and ambitious, which fits a Slytherin; with a combination of these however, and with your quick wittedness and intelligence. I say RAVENCLAW!’

The Ravenclaw table started cheering loudly, with Rachel jumping up and down. With one fleeting glance, Sam looked over to his brother, only to find him still completely immersed in the Hufflepuff boy. _Figures_.

Sitting down at the table, Sam looked up towards the hat and the stool where the lone boy was standing, waiting for his name to be called out.

‘Zhang, Frank’ called Professor McGonagall. All eyes were on Frank as he sat down on the stool, a little awkwardly, as for an eleven year old he was a bit bulky.

‘HUFFLEPUFF!’ the hat called, and as Frank moved to sit at his table, the hat and stool were taken away by Professor McGonagall.

As Frank Zhang settled down in his place, the hall became alive with chatter. The newly placed first years were excited with the realisation that they were now students at Hogwarts and thus were extremely eager to meet their fellow house members. At the Ravenclaw table, Sam was talking in earnest with Rachel about everything he’d learnt in Hogwarts: A history.

‘The candles?’ she questioned him, eyebrow raised.

‘They’re enchanted to float, with a simple charm really!’ Sam replied grinning, staring up at the ceiling in wonder, ‘the ceiling is enchanted too before you ask, bewitched to look like the night sky!’

Sherlock snorted at this. He was sitting beside Molly, though there was a good half metre between them. He was looking oddly at Sam, almost as if he was gaging on whether he should trust him or not. Sam shifted slightly as the brilliant blue eyes started at him sceptically; gaze so intense that it felt like it was burning into his skin.

Before Sam could even begin to ask Sherlock to look away, the hall fell into silence. A stark contrast to the loud noise there was before. Looking towards the front of the great hall, Sam saw professor McGonagall tapping a silver spoon against a golden goblet. She was looking down at the students from behind an eagle shaped alter.

Professor McGonagall gave a sharp cough in order to get the attention of those last few people that seem to be in every classroom or lecture.

‘Welcome to Hogwarts,’ she said, stepping out from behind the alter, and her voice amplified so that everyone in the hall could hear her loudly and clearly. _As if by magic,_ thought Sam, before he physically had to stop himself from hitting his palm against his forehead. Of _course_ it’s by magic, they are in a magic school after all! Sam thought again, angry at his previous thought.

‘Welcome back to our old students, and hello to the new. I am Professor McGonogall, and I am the headmistress here at Hogwarts. Just a few notices before the start of the feast: Firstly, to the new arrivals. It is strictly forbidden for any of you to enter the forbidden forest. This is a reminder to the older students too. As the name of the forest may suggest, it is in fact _forbidden,_ ’she gave a pointed look at Gryffindor table before continuing, ‘Furthermore, the third floor corridor is still out of bounds and I expect all students to adhere to this rule.’

She looked at the students expectantly, and gave a slight smile at the frantic nodding of the first years.

‘Well then,’ she said, ‘let the feast….begin!’

At this, Professor McGonagall returned to the teachers table with her long cloak behind her. The hall burst into excitement once more as the golden platters upon the tables were filled to the brim with delicious treats. There were roast potatoes, parsnips, caramelised carrots, and a variety of meats such as chicken, pork and beef. There were steak pies and mushroom ones; goblets of pumpkin juice or cranberry if you wanted. In front of Sam and Rachel, there was a very a very tasting looking roast pork, the crackling golden brown.

Grabbing a hold of his fork, Sam piled his plate high with the food around him. Looking down at his plate, he prodded the food curiously. No matter how hard Bobby had tried, the food he cooked was often hardly edible, and if it was edible, that didn’t mean it tasted good. Sam looked round at others near him. Rachel was already digging into her food, explaining to a confused boy beside her that the reason why she had filled her plate with vegetables and a mushroom pie was because she was vegetarian. The poor boy just looked at her incredulously as he took a chunk out a chicken drumstick.

Popping a roast potato into his mouth, Sam could help but moan. This had to be the best food he’s ever had; even beating that one diner in Montana his dad took him and Dean to for his 6th birthday. It seemed that Sam wasn’t the only one to react this way, the boy named Stiles Stilinksi was shoving bite after bite into his mouth, practically inhaling the food.

‘mmmmm,’ Stiles moaned, food still evident in his mouth , ‘this has to be the best food I’ve had for years.’

Stiles looked to Sam as if daring him to disagree. Like that was going to happen.

‘So Sam,’ Molly said grabbing his attention, ‘where are you from?’

Molly, Sam noticed, was the only one close by to Sam who happened to be eating with some form of manners, and not like she hadn’t eaten in months. She was looking at him intently, but with pure kindness in her eyes, and a smile.

‘Sioux Falls,’ he replied, grinning when she looked a tad confused, ‘It’s in America.’

‘Obviously,’ Sherlock said, voice dripping with Sarcasm, ‘Even Molly isn’t that stupid.’

Molly shot him a slightly annoyed look then turned her head towards Sam. He noticed she was still smiling.

‘I know that, I was just trying to figure out where it was exactly. It’s in South Dakota, right?’

She grinned wildly at Sherlock’s astonished expression, because yes she could be smart too!

Sam nodded, and fell into a rather loud and impressive conversation with Rachel and Molly on how all the paintings in the castle move, with Sherlock’s input of course. He could still see, however, over at the other end of the hall sitting at the Slytherin table, Nico and Loki sitting together, quietly talking quietly amongst themselves as the other members of their house yelled and cheered over copious reasons.

                                                                                                                             *

Sitting at the Gryffindor table, John picked at a roast potato on his plate idly. He honestly felt so alone. He’d tried to make friends with his fellow housemates but all that he’d gotten was a simple introduction from most people and then they started talking to each other amongst themselves. You had the two redheaded girls, Amy and Merida, to his left. They did invite him to join their conversation earlier however, he soon realised that when they got incredibly exited… or irritated, they spoke rapidly and he couldn’t distinguish a single word due to their heavy, thick Scottish accents. John had also tried to talk to Scott who was sitting on his right. He was fine to speak to at first, but then Scott had found himself recognising the Malia girl who was sitting next to him and they began to catch up on what they’d missed from each other’s lives over the past two years. John thought he’d heard the words ‘werewolf’ and ‘coyote’ at one point and then from that moment on he decided that it was better to leave them be. John wasn’t even going to try speaking to Kensi and JJ. They were two girls who looked like they could beat him up in a heartbeat if they disagreed with him, and John didn’t want to get on anybody’s bad side, especially not on his first day.

This left Leo, Kili and Isaac, who were sitting next to each other directly opposite John. They were talking quietly amongst themselves… well… Isaac was speaking quietly. Kili and Leo were attempting to be quiet, yet somehow managed to be loud at the same time. Either way, John didn’t want to disturb their conversation and decided that he was going to take his frustrations out on the, now, mashed potato. He looked towards the Ravenclaw table in the hope of catching Molly’s or even Sherlock’s eye, but to no avail. Molly was laughing at something the girl near her had said, and even Sherlock was looking amused at the conversation. John groaned. Why was he in Gryffindor? It made no sense at all. He wasn’t very courageous, and he doubted that he had daring and nerve, so why was he placed there?

A cough brought him out of his thoughts, and it was then he realised that he’d been staring intently at his plate. There was a second cough and John raised his head to look at Kili’s amused smile.

‘What did that potato ever do to you?’ Kili asked, grinning cheekily.

Kili was most likely the smallest of all the first years, but he seemed to make up for his lack of height with his rather overbearing personality, as John was soon to find out. His grin never seemed to falter as he raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to John across the table.

‘John, right?’ he asked, still smiling. Okay. The smile was getting a bit creepy now. Kili wasn’t blinking.

John nodded in response, fiddling with his cutlery as Kili looked at him even more. Suddenly, Kili stopped his weird smiling and spun round towards Leo and declared loudly that he wanted pie for the pudding when it arrived. _What just happened?_ John asked himself.

‘Sorry mate, I just find it funny weirding people out. I mean, did you see your face?’ Kili started laughing loudly to himself. Evidently, John had spoken out loud rather than in his head. As Kili continued laughing, Leo and Isaac soon joined and then John couldn’t help himself anymore. He snorted loudly before joining in with the laughter, all thoughts of wanting to be on the Ravenclaw table falling away.

                                                                                                                              *

After dessert, each of the prefects where called up from their seats and given instructions to give the first years a quick tour of the castle. Sam almost couldn’t contain his excitement, but he managed it when Rachel gave him a pointed and knowing look as they waited for Gryffindor house to trickle out of the hall. At a distance Sherlock and Molly could see John happily talking away to a small boy beside him with straggly brown hair and a clasp tied neatly at the back. John caught them in the corner of his eye and gave them a quick wave before he left through the large oak doors. The next house to leave was Hufflepuff. In Sam’s opinion they seemed to take even longer than the Gryffindor house, and Sam had taken to jumping from one foot to the other as a way to express his boredom at having to stand at the table. Unfortunately, this led to Sam being asked by Rachel if he had to go to the bathroom, which then in turn led to several people nearby snickering at him.

‘I’m so sorry’ Rachel apologised for the tenth time as she was yet again met with Sam’s glare.

They could hear Nico and Loki laughing at their expense from the Slytherin table.

Sam grumbled reluctantly that he’d forgiven her, before walking out of the hall. They were being led by a tall, 7th year boy, whose willowy stature made Sam think that he could be knocked over at any moment in the wind and be blown away. They turned to the left and started walking up the marble stairs to the second floor. Sam was once again in awe of the paintings, where figures of young girls and old scholars waved at the first year Ravenclaws enthusiastically as they walked past.

‘Be sure to be careful of the stairs when you walk about here on your own, as they  often move about and you don’t want to fall off and make a splat pancake on the floor’ said the boy sharply as they reached the top of the stairs. Okay. Sam didn’t like this guy one bit.

The boy spun around on the spot and looked down at the first year Ravenclaws who crowded together.

‘This is the second floor.’ He said in a deadpan voice before going up the other stair case to the third floor.

Rachel looked at Sam in confusion, wasn’t this supposed to be a tour?

‘This is the third floor’. The boy continued back up yet another staircase. This kept happening until they reached the 7th floor where the boy declared their tour was over and walked away towards the Gryffindor common room, leaving the first year Ravenclaws huddled at the top of the staircase.

‘Uhhh what now?’ asked Molly, looking down over the staircase. Rachel joined her for a second before quickly walking back to Sam.

‘I see that this place isn’t the best for those of us afraid of heights’ she mumbled behind one of her hands which she’s clamped over her mouth.

She did look a little green.

‘Well, why don’t we go back to the Great Hall?’ Sam supplied to the rest of the group. Maybe they could find a teacher near there that could direct them to their common room.

The rest of the group nodded in agreement to this, and together, the ten of them made their way down the stairs. As the neared the end of the stairs to the third floor, the staircase made a loud creaking sound before the end detached itself away from the third floor and moved slowly towards the left, where there was simply a door in a wall… nothing else.

Sherlock turned round to tell the rest of them that they should all go through the door when he saw that the majority of them were clinging tightly to the bannisters and sprawled across the marble steps. Pathetic. Nevertheless, Sherlock still held his hand out to Molly and helped her up when the end of the stairs hit the wall. Quickly, Sherlock shoved open the door and the 10 first year Ravenclaws tumbled in.

The room was dark, and as Molly felt along the walls for a torch or something to bring light into the room, all she could feel was a sticky and moist texture on the walls. She exclaimed in disgust and jumped as far away from the wall as she could. There was a mumbling from behind her, and as she spun around she was faced with Spencer who had just managed to illuminate his wand. He grinned widely at her.

‘Didn’t expect that to go right!’ he said happily.

‘What spell was that?’ Rachel asked earnestly wishing to do some magic of her own. She’d tried at home when she first got her wand but all she’d managed to do was turn her eyebrow green.

‘Lumos’ Spencer said shyly, giggling when he saw the others each try to light their wand up. Most were successful.

Sherlock gave him a grudging look. He was supposed to be the smart one. Molly noticed and hit him on the arm with a pointed look. Sam could almost laugh. Those two had only known each other for a day, and yet they seemed to act like boyfriend or girlfriend or something.

Looking around, now that they had light, it was clear to the group that it wasn’t simply a room, but a _corridor_. Said corridor was completely derelict. There was dust absolutely everywhere, and huge chunks of brick from the wall were strewn across the floor. As they started walking further down the corridor, something caught Sam’s eye.

Sam walked away from the rest of the group to inspect what he’d found. It seemed to be a shrine of some sort. There was a pile of items that looked like they’d belong at a joke shop, a couple dusty photos, and several letters dotted around. The shrine looked like it had taken a beating of some sort as several items had rolled away or looked crumpled and crushed. Sam blew some dust off of one of the photo and found the blinking smiling faces of two identical boys, their red hair illuminating the old and tatty photo. Sam blew the dust off of another photo, and then another and another. Each one revealed the same twins at various moments of their lives.

‘What’ve you got there?’ Rachel asked as she crouched down beside Sam.

Sam shrugged and looked at some of the other items at the shrine. Rachel leaned over him and picked up an open letter that was crumpled at the very top of the shrine. She smoothed it out as best as she could and began to read the writing, although it was hard as a lot of the ink was smudged.

_Fred,_

_I don’t know what to do. You were always next to me, always, and now you’re not. I feel so alone. Mum kept telling me not to come here, but I had to. I just had to, and now I don’t know. I hope you don’t mind this stuff being here, but there had to be something here for you Fred. You died. There should be something in your memory. I’m not sure if I can run the shop without you, I’m not going to at the moment. It’s closed until I can get myself together again. I’m never going to be together again really though, am I? We were two parts of a whole, and now we’re not. I miss you. And I know this is stupid. If you were to see me writing this out to you now, you wouldn’t stop laughing. I had to say something to you though._

_Goodbye Fred._

_Say hi to Moody for me._

_Give him Hell._

‘I think someone died here,’ Rachel whispered to Sam, handing him the letter. The air seemed to drop in temperature, and a couple of the lit wands began to dim.

‘I think you’re right,’ Sam responded, getting up and turning to everyone else, ‘we should go.’

As Sam finished speaking the group heard a low growl coming from the far end of the corridor. The eleven year olds seemed to stay still in shock and horror until Stiles began making odd high pitched noises and started yelling at them all to leave. Sam’s legs where moving before he even thought to run and soon they were all darting back down the corridor praying that the staircase was still there to take them to where they needed to be. Laura flung the door open, and thankfully the staircase hadn’t moved. They all ran back up the stairs and sat down near the top, Sam slammed the door shut firmly and joined them.

‘What was that?’ Stiles asked, his voice still high pitched and squeaky.

‘I don’t know,’ Sam replied, looking at the door as the stairs finally moved away, ‘and I don’t want to find out.’

The others seemed to agree with that testament, and looking nervously at the door they had escaped from moments before, they made their way back down to the great hall. Not a single teacher could be seen.

‘What are we going to do?’ Laura asked, looking around. The unspoken question about curfew hung in the air.

‘When we left the hall earlier, didn’t the rest of the house go in that direction?’ a small girl named Piper supplied, pointing to the left.

‘I wasn’t paying attention so I dunno,’ Stiles said looking back up the staircase they’d walked down.

‘Well they did. So _maybe_ we should go down that way ourselves,’ Piper said again, giving Stiles an annoyed look before walking off with her friends Penelope and Lydia down the corridor. The rest of them followed the three girls at the front, eying the portraits on the walls. The figures in the paintings were whispering, the words echoing loudly and making Sam feel _slightly_ creeped out. As they neared the end of the corridor and turned to the right, they found themselves in a large open space facing a door, and a tall figure. Feeling the anger rapidly rise within himself, Sam recognised the figure as the boy who left them earlier, however before he could say a word to the boy, the boy started clapping.

‘Well done!’ he said, giving them a large and friendly smile. This was odd.

Lydia gasped.

‘This was a test wasn’t it?’ she asked, looking at him incredulously.

‘You caught me,’ he said, still giving his welcoming and friendly smile, ‘It’s a tradition of ours here at Ravenclaw, to see whether or not you can think quickly on the spot. It’s all well and good knowing the facts’, applying them is the trick.’

He looked at them once again, giving them another friendly smile before continuing.

‘You kids were a lot faster than my group was, let me tell you that. I think you had about half an hour to an hour on you; we ended up having to be saved by Filch the caretaker. Now, here is the entrance to our common room. In order to get in, you’ll need to answer a riddle’

*

Waking up, Sam jumped straight out of bed, almost forgetting where he was entirely. Glancing around, blinking slowly, Sam smiled as his memories rushed back to him. He was at Hogwarts, he was _finally_ at Hogwarts! He could almost jump up and down in pure joy, but as he looked at his sleeping dorm-mates, he was sure that they wouldn’t appreciate it. Instead, Sam let his smile grow larger as he bent down and gathered his new robes for the school day and made his way to the bathroom. The bathroom itself at Hogwarts was far fancier than any of the motel rooms Sam used to end up at when he’d go round the country with Dean and their dad. It was even better than Bobby’s admittedly chic bathroom, which was saying something because though Sam would never say it out loud, and he loved his home dearly, it was a complete mess. Sam was certain that under his bed there was practically a family of mice nesting there.

Anyway, as he finished up with getting ready, he heard loud noises from his dorm, signalling that all his dorm-mates were in deed awake. Sam hoped that they were all friendly. Yeah, they all seemed okay last night, even Sherlock, but Sam knew that first impressions were not enough to see whether or not someone was a nice person. Take that Octavian kid for example, Sam was sure that he was just having a bad day, and that he’d be a lot nicer today than he was yesterday.

Sam attempted to pat down his hair, but when he saw that he wasn’t going to get anything other than its natural rumpled state, he gave up and left the bathroom. As he shut the door and turned around, he jumped at the shock of having four other boys all looking at him curiously, crowding around him.

‘Uhhh what?’ he asked, confused as to why they were all staring at him.

You had Spencer to Sam’s right, giving a shy smile, his hair almost messier than Sam’s. He looked a bit ruffled in his mismatched pyjama’s and when he noticed Sam looking at him he pushed his glasses back up from where it had sat at the end of his nose, murmured a quick ‘hi’ then walked off. Then there was Sherlock and Stiles, who were both giving him very different vibes. Sherlock had kept up his intense calculating look, his head cocked to the side as if Sam were a puzzle he needed to figure out. Sherlock shook his head quickly then muttered something about needing to sort out an experiment in his trunk… Sam thought better than to ask.

This left Stiles. He was grinning wildly by now, laughing at Sam’s confused face.

‘It’s nothing bad, we promise,’ he glanced at Sherlock who was struggling with a sock, ‘well I promise at least. It’s just that, you seem so enthusiastic, and I don’t think any of us has seen someone this excited for the first day of school before. Like… _ever_ , and that’s saying something because look at all of us! We’re all so happy to be here, but you’re like on another planet man.’

Sam shrugged in reply, only to get an over excited Stiles grin at him once more.

‘It’s nothing bad! Really, and judging from that pretty neat trading card set you have in your trunk, we’re going to be great buddies!’

 ‘How did you? Wha-?’ Sam stopped and stared openly at Stiles.

‘My dad’s a cop, I think I can break into a trunk. It’s fine, didn’t touch anything, was just curious. Now, wait here while I go shower. We’re definitely sitting together at lunch….’

‘Don’t say it’

‘…Buddy’

And with that, Stiles skidded towards the bathroom, and slammed the door shut.

                                                                                                                         *

That morning, Sam learnt that his brother was in fact a total dick. Well. Okay, he knew that already, he just _re-_ learnt that fact. It all started when he was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, eating away at his food and chatting to Rachel about the timetables they were to be given at the end of breakfast, when _it_ happened. Well, Sam could say he was overreacting, but he really wasn’t. Dean had squeezed into the seat next to Sam, effectively shoving Molly out of the way, and gave Sam his patented smirk. The next thing Sam knew, he’d been dragged off over to the Hufflepuff table with Dean saying how ‘hot people dig dudes who are caring older brothers’. And that is where Sam ended up. He was shoved into a seat opposite a brunette 5 th year hufflepuff who grunted in annoyance when he saw Dean.

‘What do you want Dean?’ the boy asked, his voice a far lower octave than what Sam thought it would have been.

Dean smirked before sitting next to Sam.

‘Hey Cas, looking good today I see. I just came to say hi, and to introduce you to my little bro, Sam, here!’ Dean said cheerfully, ruffling Sams hair in faux affection.

Yes, ruffling Sam’s hair was an actual way of Dean showing his affection to Sam, but this time it was just totally put on for the show. Cas grunted yet again at Dean and then turned towards Sam with kind eyes.

‘Hello Sam, I’m Castiel,’ Cas said holding his hand to shake Sams. Sam shook it and then mumbled something about needing to be back at his table only for Dean to shove him back in the seat.

‘C’mon Sammy,’ he whispered into Sam’s ear, ‘You’re getting me a date if it’s the last thing you do.’

After finishing that threat, he turned back towards Cas with his dazzling smile.

‘So Castiel…’ Dean said Cas’ name teasingly, rolling it off of his tongue. Cas swallowed.

‘I seem to recall last year on the train,’ Dean continued, ‘you saying that you wouldn’t be opposed to dating me. So what do you say? You, Me, on the quidditch pitch tonight after dark?’

Dean waggled his eyebrows expectantly only to get Cas narrow his eyes in return.

‘I said that, Dean, in the hope that you’d ask me out during the summer. You didn’t, your loss. I’m actually dating someone else now.’ Cas gave Dean a pointed glare before getting up from his seat.

‘Do I get to at least know this guys name since you’ve just so harshly rejected me?’ Dean said annoyed, getting up from his own place at the Hufflepuff table.

‘Sky,’ Cas responded quickly, but even Sam could see the small smile playing on Cas’ face when he said the name.

‘Goodbye Sam, nice meeting you,’ Cas said before he finally left.

Dean let out a low growling sound before shoving Sam back towards the Ravenclaw table and stalking off.

As Sam got back to the Ravenclaw table, he sat down just in time for Professor McGonagall to give him his timetable. He could already hear the groans of students nearby reading their own, so he was less than enthusiastic to find out what his first lesson was. Reluctantly he looked down at the paper:

_Monday-   Periods 1 and 2- Charms_

-        _Break_

-        _Periods 3 and 4-  Herbology_

-        _Lunch_

-        _Periods 5 and 6- Care of Magical Creatures_

_Tuesday- Periods 1 and 2- Transfiguration_

-        _Break_

-        _Periods 3 and 4- Potions_

-        _Lunch_

-        _Periods 5 and 6- History of Magic_

-        _Flying lessons_

_Wednesday- Periods 1 and 2- Defense Against the Dark Arts_

-        _Break_

-        _Periods 3 and 4- Herbology_

-        _Lunch_

-        _Periods 5 and 6- History of Magic_

-        _Flying lessons_

The list continued like that. Flying, Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures on Thursday, and Potions, Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts on Friday. Grinning, Sam showed his to Rachel before realising stupidly, that all first year Ravenclaws had the same lessons. Rachel chuckled at him loudly before quickly calling Nico and Loki over from the Slytherin table as John came over from the Gryffindor one with one of his other friends.

‘Hi!’ Nico said somewhat breathlessly, plopping down opposite Sam.

‘What happened to you?’ Rachel asked, popping a grape into her mouth and staring at him intensely.

‘He had to run up here because the stupid idiot left his wand in his trunk’ Loki supplied teasingly, handing a pomegranate over to Nico.

                                                                                                                               *

Falling into his seat beside Rachel in Charms, Sam couldn’t shake off his excitement. He was about to start his _first_ lesson _at Hogwarts!_   Let’s just say that if Sam could be jumping up and down in his seat right now, he would.

A small man was standing upon a pile of books placed upon his desk holding the register for the lesson. Sherlock, Molly, Lydia, John, Penelope, Astrid, Kili, Piper, Rachel, Isaac, Leo, Kensi, Jennifer, Spencer, Amy, Laura, Stiles, Merida,Scott, Malia, _Sam._

Once everyone was ready and the register was called out, the man who had introduced himself as Professor Flitwick began explaining his position at the school and what Charms would entail for the students.

All Sam could think of was, _Welcome to Hogwarts._


	5. Authors Note

Hi everyone, so unfortunately this isn't an update and I am really sorry about my lack of updates. I wish I could update more but with my second load of A-Level exams coming up, I haven't found the time. Don't worry though, I'm half way through with chapter 5 and once exams are over, the chapter is most likely going to go up around 2 weeks after. What I want to be saying in this little note though isn't when the chapter will be up, though I am really sorry about that, but that I'll be editing a little of chapter 4. Why? you very few people may ask. Well, there's been a recent fandom of mine that I'm not currently happy with, and as their character add little importance to the fic, I'll be editing them out and replacing them with other characters such as two of my own OC's who I love dearly and characters from other fandoms who had not made their way into the first year group. I understand that the perceived number of students in each year is to be around 40 (as we base our facts on Harry's year) however it's been told to me by a friend (hello Tess) that there's a theory going round that Harry's year is actually really small because the kids were born during the war, and that the 40 students per year isn't the average. From this theory then, I've decided to add in a few more characters in order to make my the plot lines I want to happen in my fic be achievable. Thanks for sticking with me, and I'm very sorry that this isn't an update.

-Melanie

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading so far, please review :)
> 
> This is also on my tumblr (tobeheard) just click the tab my writings.


End file.
